However, Rollins also pointed out that Lesnar struggled to beat Daniel Bryan, A.J Styles and Finn Balor recently.

Seth suggested that Lesnar had trouble beating people of his size, speed and style, claiming he was uniquely suited to get the win over The Beast at WrestleMania.

Heyman pointed out that in those three instances Lesnar’s opponent was changed at the very last second, but he got flustered as he talked and talked.

Rollins grinned as Heyman ran a video package all about his client.

Having calmed down a little, Heyman said Lesnar had ample time to prepare this time and he had already thought up plenty of ways to punish Rollins.

Out of nowhere Shelton Benjamin showed up in the ring and hit Rollins with 3 big German Suplexes.

Why Shelton Benjamin?

Match 1

Singles Match

Seth Rollins
Vs.
Shelton Benjamin

After commercials a match had kicked off between the two, and Paul Heyman had joined commentary.

The commentary team threw questions at Heyman but he skirted around most of them.

Benjamin is apparently a long-term associate of Lesnar, having trained together in college, which is why Heyman apparently chose him.

Paul took a call from Lesnar toward the end of the bout, then revealed that Lesnar wasn’t happy how his advocate had been treated, and the quality of the ‘lazy’ video package put together by WWE, so he would be on Raw next week to air his concerns and answer any and all questions.

Benjamin put up a good fight in the ring, but Rollins ultimately got the win with a Curb Stomp.

Seth Rollins wins by Pinfall.

Segment 2

Intensity

Finn Balor made his way to the ring while Rollins still celebrated his victory.

The pair met on the ramp and shook hands.

Bobby Lashley appeared on the titantron during Finn’s entrance looking ‘intense’.

No sign of the hype man tonight, Lashley is going it alone.

Match 2

Intercontinental Championship Match

Finn Balor (c)
Vs.
Bobby Lashley

Pretty average stuff until the end of the bout.

With Balor in control and heading to the top rope to hit Coup De Grace… the bell rang.

A look over to the timekeepers area showed Lio Rush had rung it.

Balor took Rush out, but as he went for his finisher again Lashley hit him with a big Spear for the 3.

Bobby Lashley wins by Pinfall and becomes the NEW Intercontinental Champion.

Segment 3

Baron Corbin Inerviewed

Backstage Charly asked Baron Corbin about the comments he made just a week after Roman Reigns left to battle cancer.

Wait, didn’t she ask him this last week?

She played the clip, and it wasn’t all that bad really.

Corbin said he admitted it, he wanted Reigns gone from the ring, but now he was back.

Corbin said he had been carrying Raw since Reigns left, and tonight he’d house train the big dog.

The new heel Ronda Rousey headed to the ring next.

Rousey derided the crowd, calling them cowards and saying none of them would boo her if there wasn’t a barrier separating them.

Ronda said she’d embarrass Charlotte and Becky at Mania, and that’s why she’d ensured both of them would be at Mania.

She called the WWE ‘Carny Con Artists’ and vowed to prove it.

Ronda said Charlotte and Becky were jokes, and anyone who believed in the fake WWE was a joke too.

Dana Brooke’s music hit and she walked out from the back.

Dana said she had nothing left to lose, and wouldn’t let Rousey disrespect the WWE, the WWE Universe and the womens locker room.

Dana said she might not be some big MMA fighter but she loved the business and the WWE, and she had worked her ass off to prove she belonged there, yet she didn’t get the time of day let alone a match.

Brooke said she might not be a household name like Ronda, but she wanted a chance and as Rousey usually issued an open challenge… she accepted.

Rousey booted Dana in the stomach then beat the crap out of her.

She hit Dana with her Samoan Drop so sloppily it nearly broke Dana’s neck, then refused to apply the Armbar, telling the fans to pay $50 if they wanted to see that.

She slapped a referee around the face before leaving, and he sold it for a good 5 minutes.

Match 3

Tag Team Match

Black & Ricochet
Vs.
Roode & Gable

Very nice tag match, fast paced, no slow points.

Ricochet and Black got the win, Black hitting his Black Mask for the 3.

As they headed up the ramp celebrating, The Revival jumped them and beat them down.

Black & Ricochet win by Pinfall.

Segment 4

Host Reveal

Can someone tell me why WrestleMania needs a host?

What do they even do? A little introduction piece, which more often than not involves some flubs, and then not a whole lot else.

Anyway, Alexa Bliss got the privilege of revealing just who it was going to be.

Bliss went through previous hosts such as Kim Kardashian, The Rock and The New Day.

No mention of The Hulkster?

Drumroll…

It’s Alexa Bliss.

Surprise! Can you believe it?

Bliss talked about how much of an honour it was (for us) and cleverly skirted over the fact it’s what happens when there are no other plans for you.

Next we had to see clips of those two idiots from SNL on last week’s show, followed by an interview with Strowman.

Charly asked Corbin if he felt he had the right to attack guests on Raw.

Strowman said he didn’t care, he liked it.

A stagehand approached and told Strowman his car was there, but Braun didn’t know anything about it.

After commercials we discovered that Strowman had been given a sports car by the cast of SNL.

Strowman said he was going to see what it was made of, which obviously meant he was going to tear it to bits.

Strowman ranted about how it was too small, ripping off the door and tearing out a seat.

He smashed the windscreen, ripped off the hood, kicked off the bumper and wheel trims.

He told the stagehand to tell the guys from SNL he’d see them live in NY and they’d get these hands.

Great, so Strowman has a gimmick match again this year it seems, or even worse a gimmick promo.

Back in the ring Elias had set up to play in his hometown.

He said statistically it was a surprise how much of a success he had become, because being born in Pittsburgh meant you were almost certainly a waste of life.

He said everyone there was miserable, and that held back the talented ones.

No Way Jose interrupted, but Elias caught him with a Baseball Slide as he went round the ring, and then beat the crap out of him.

Harlem Heat are the next inductees into the Hall of Fame, making Booker T a 2x Hall of Famer.

Lacey Evans walked out from the back next and headed to the commentary desk where she wafted a fan in Renee Young’s face.

As she went to leave Tamina and Nia walked out from the back, they dismissed her though and walked to the ring.

Be the FIRST to know!

If you want to be the first to find out when we post new articles or announcements follow us on:

Match 4

Tag Team Match

Natalya(w/Beth Phoenix)
Vs.
Nia Jax(w/Tamina)

Before the match Natalya said last night had made her realise there weren’t many people she could trust to have her back any more.

She thought Ronda Rousey was her friend, but she clearly didn’t know the real Ronda Rousey.

However, she knew she COULD rely on her best friend; Beth Phoenix.

It would have been a much bigger surprise had there not been the altercation at Fast Lane.

This match had barely gotten going when Tamina grabbed Natalya’s ankle and held her in the corner.

Beth hit the ring and dropped Nia leading to the DQ.

Tamina tried to get involved, but Beth dropped her too.

Nia and Tamina headed up to the back, but as they went through the curtain they got attacked by Sasha and Bayley, with Finley and Jamie Noble having to step in to separate them.

Nia Jax wins by Disqualification.

Segment 5

Give Me What I Want

Backstage we saw Dave Batista arrive, along with a slew of security that escorted him through the back.

After commercials Triple H made his way to the ring, not suited up, but in a leather jacket and jeans.

Batista walked out from the back too, alone at first before signalling for his security who made a barrier half way down the ramp.

Donning blue sunglasses (I wonder if that’s a nod to ‘Bluetista’), Dave stood at the top of the ramp silently.

Triple H asked if Batista was going to stand at the top of the ramp like a nose-ring model all night, or if he was going to join him in the ring.

Triple H said he assumed the security was there to protect HIM from Batista, right?

Batista said he was smart, even though Triple H didn’t think he was.

He said he’d learned from two of the dirtiest players in the game and admitted the security was there for him, then asked where Triple H was keeping his sledgehammer.

Dave told Triple H he KNEW what he wanted, so he just needed to hand it over.

Triple H said Bastista had walked out on the WWE so many times, and now he just walked back in here making demands because he was a Hollywood star… well he was getting nothing.

Triple H said they’d have to do it his way…

He’d jump out of the ring, work his way through the Guardians of the Independent Scene and then beat the crap out of Dave at the top of the ramp.

Batista said they wouldn’t be doing it Triple H’s way, and ranted about getting what he deserved.

Triple H told Batista he was getting nothing, and again challenged him to get in the ring right now.

Dave said it was killing Triple H, he could see it, and again barked about getting what he wanted.

Batista finally revealed what he wanted; a match with Triple H at WrestleMania.

Triple H told him he was on.

Batista said all he ever wanted was one last match, to end his career on his terms… against Triple H, so he could end HIS career… on his terms.

Triple H told ‘Hollywood’ he had to dig deep and find any last shred of The Animal he had remaining, because he’d need it.

Trips said it the match might be on Batista’s terms, but it was going to be by The Game’s rules; No Holds Barred.

Kurt Angle made his way to the ring after commercials, getting a huge response from his hometown.

He revealed that at WrestleMania he’d compete in his farewell match, and fighting back tears he thanked the locker room, the Superstars and the fans, saying he had the time of his life.

He said it was only right he had one more match in his hometown…

Match 5

Singles Match

Kurt Angle
Vs.
Apollo Crews

I remember watching Kurt’s debut match against Shawn Staziak and I can barely believe that was 20 years ago.

Kurt has been part of some of the best matches I’ve ever seen, the brutal 26 minute Street Fight against Shane McMahon at King of the Ring 2001, having already wrestled TWO matches earlier in the show, is probably my personal highlight.

I’ll be sad to see him go, but I think it’s the right time.

His body has been through the wringer over the years, and he’s not the athlete he once was.

Don’t get me wrong he’s still in amazing shape, but he just isn’t what he used to be and he clearly knows that.

This match was slow but the fans ate it up anyway.

Kurt got the win with the Angle Slam.

Kurt Angle wins by Pinfall.

Segment 6

Cowardly Attack

As Roman Reigns made his way to the ring to face Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre attacked him.

Reigns tried to fight back, but took a huge Claymore Kick that rocked him, and then a second that knocked his head into the ringpost.

As medics and officials streamed to ringside, McIntyre told Reigns this was just the beginning.

Reigns somehow dragged himself to his feet and Seth Rollins came to check on him too.

Roman said he just had a little headache and he was fine, then slowly headed to the back.

After commercials Ambrose and Rollins helped Reigns to the medical room.

Ambrose saw Triple H, so he made a beeline for him and demanded a Falls Count Anywhere No Disqualification match with Drew… Tonight.

Triple H said it was on and he’d go and tell Drew right now.

Main Event Match

Falls Count Anywhere Match

Dean Ambrose
Vs.
Drew McIntyre

Before the match McIntyre goaded Ambrose, asking him if he was going to take his beating like a man or squeal like his brother Roman Reigns had.

They started the match on the ramp and headed all the way through the crowd.

This was about as old school hardcore match as you’re going to see in WWE these days, as the brawl went backstage and through the concessions stands, then back to the ring, into the sound area and up onto the ramp.

The pair battled on the announce table, where McIntyre grabbed a pencil and drove it into Ambrose’s eye.

I really hope that was signed off, because it’s spur-of-the-moment, easily repeatable by kids actions like that which can get a guy fired.

The end of the match was absolutely brutal.

Ambrose got caught up in a handrail, and McIntyre hit a Claymore, which ripped the whole rail off the steps with Dean still caught up inside of it.

This match was nasty, but in the best possible way.

Wait, Ambrose is back up…

McIntyre is celebrating on the announce table… he’s seen Ambrose… another Claymore!

If you’ve loved what you read here why not consider helping us out?
Donate to WWEBlogand help keep us Alive!

This entry was posted
on Monday, March 11th, 2019 at 11:40 am and is filed under - The Raw Recap.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.